


Trouble in Paradise

by Chaunceytron



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Gen, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-10-09 07:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10407060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaunceytron/pseuds/Chaunceytron
Summary: (Fourth in Devil in Plain Sight Series)Sam and Dean are trying to find a way to protect Syd from Lucifer when they receive a call from Daniel, a park ranger they met while on the hunt for the Goatman. After determining that he's up to no good, they decide to capture him for questioning.





	1. Where's Wayne?

The bunker was relatively quiet. Since Sean had joined their group, he and Dean would usually argue or avoid each other. Syd left Holly in her room and wandered to the library where she could see Sean and Dean having a somewhat civil conversation. Sam was looking at his laptop screen, but Syd could tell by his furtive glances that he was listening intently.

“So why kidnap firstborn sons?” Dean asked as Syd entered the room.

“Well, firstborn children carry more power than the others. Plus I guess if someone has a child, it’s more likely they have a firstborn son than… a seventh son,” Sean explained tiredly.

“But why sons? Why not daughters?”

“Just because I’m a fairy doesn’t mean I know everything, Dean,” Sean replied cattily. “Gancanagh don’t typically get along with others of our kind.”

Syd hid a smile and joined Sam at the table. She quickly leaned toward Sam and whispered, “Did Dean get taken by the fairies or something?”

Sam checked to see if Dean noticed them before whispering back, “Yeah, on the orders of the leprechaun.”

“So did you go ‘Liam Neeson’ on their asses? Or did he ‘Rambo’ his way out?”

“Hey!” Dean called out to Sam and Syd. “What are you two whispering about?”

“Nothing,” Sam replied as he covertly signaled Syd that it was the second one.

“Just talking about how awesome you are,” Syd replied snidely, and Dean rolled his eyes.

“I am curious about one thing though,” Sam spoke up interrupting what was likely a snide comment from Dean. “Sean, last time I met ‘Wayne’ he seemed… really loyal to his kind. Why would he steal the relics just to take them to the human world?”

Sean sighed brushing his hair out of his eyes and replied, “Well, I don’t know exactly. The Tribunal just seems to think he lost his mind or was intentionally planning to take them from the start, but there are other rumors. Apparently when you two interfered with him last time, the Tribunal heard of what he’d been doing, and he ‘fell out of favor’ with them. Apparently his kidnapping wasn’t sanctioned by the Tribunal.”

“So why’s he going after us? Why not them?” Dean asked.

“I’d guess he thinks you’re responsible or maybe he just wants revenge. I honestly don’t know,” Sean replied; the lilt in his voice sounded tense. Syd guessed that Dean had likely been asking his questions for a while now.

Syd took a moment to look around the library. She had gone through everything they had on dream lore and magic, but she hadn’t found anything to keep the literal devil out of her dreams. Sam met her eyes with a curious look.

“So you guys still haven’t found anything yet?” Sam asked.

“No, not really except for that potion that Cas found, but I can’t take that every night. And apparently having a little of the devil’s grace inside me makes most spells to deter ‘dream-walkers’ obsolete,” Syd replied wearily.

Sam and Dean shared a worried look, and Syd noticed Sean’s expression soften. 

“Hey, no worries, guys,” Syd quickly tried to assure them. “I haven’t even seen him in my dreams lately. Honestly I think he’s trying to come up with a different strategy since Cas pulled me out of the dream last time.”

Unfortunately her speech didn’t seem to comfort any of them. Sam turned back to his computer as Sean and Dean went to kitchen. Syd sat quietly while she decided what to do. It was already late; she had been writing all day, trying to relax. The nights without the potion were the most nerve-wracking, so she’d been trying to calm herself. 

Sam sighed, “No odd spear related deaths. So it looks like Sean was right. ‘Wayne’ is likely keeping the spear on him or in secret somewhere.”

Dean was now standing in the doorway and asked, “So what’s his endgame? Lure us in with the spear then kill us? He could have done that already; what’s he waiting for?”

“Oh, Dean, you’re so full of hope and happy thoughts,” Syd remarked.

“It’s not like we even have a way to fight him. He’s got a spear that makes him invincible. Why’s he hesitating?”

“Not fully invincible. One human accidently cut himself with it; the blade had been poisoned,” Sean said walking back into the library.

“Oh, great,” Dean growled exasperatedly. “We just wait for him to make a fatal mistake.”

“There’s also the whole ‘throw grains of something at him and he has to count them’ thing,” Sam pointed out thoughtfully. “That’s how I was able to banish him back to Avalon last time.”

“Salt to his face would at least slow him down,” Sean added and looked directly at Syd, whom gave him a cheeky smile in return. “Not all fairies have to count though. He might have hired others to help him.”

“Okay, so we kinda have a plan,” Dean noted, slightly more cheerful. “I’d prefer a more concrete one, but this will do until we figure out his dastardly plan.”

Syd quickly stifled a yawn. She pointed out, “So he might give the spear to a different fairy. One that can fight better or doesn’t have the same weakness.”

“Why do you think that?” Sam asked.

“Well, if he can be stopped as easily as throwing something in front of him and you’ve done it before, then why would he choose to fight you with the spear? You have knowledge of a spell that banishes him too. Why wouldn’t he use someone else to fight you? Plus that way he has a patsy if you guys win.”

Sam, Dean, and Sean went quiet for a few moments, and Syd could tell that they were all thinking the same thing: If that was so, had the leprechaun already set his trap into motion? Syd felt a shiver roll down her spine. Sam quickly stood up and closed his laptop.

“Well, I’m going to get some rest,” Sam announced. “No use in worrying about things we can’t fix right now. And you too, Syd.” Sam gave Syd an authoritative but kind smile.

Syd thought briefly about arguing, but even she knew that she was too tired to stay up much later. Sean and Dean agreed, so Syd went back to her room to get another night of restless sleep.


	2. Devil's Desire

This place was different from the usual scenery of Syd’s dreams. A beach stretched out under a star filled sky. Lucifer could see a lighthouse in the distance, and he briefly wondered if this was a real place. A small light in the distance alerted him to Syd’s presence. As he approached, Lucifer noticed bottles with rags sticking out of them. Lucifer rolled his eyes with irritation; clearly she’d been talking in depth to the Winchesters. 

“Lighters won’t work for me even in a damn dream,” Syd muttered darkly to herself while messing with the lighter.

Lucifer smiled before quickly snatching the lighter from her hand and grabbing one of the bottles from the sand. Syd stepped back, obviously on guard and looking for an escape route. After swiftly pouring the oil around himself in a circle, he lit it and watched Syd’s expression change to one of disbelief and confusion.

“Why did you do that?” Syd asked warily.

“Because I just want to talk,” Lucifer replied calmly. “I was too… pushy last time. Sorry, but it’s in my nature. Now as you can see, I’m contained.”

“And what exactly do you want to talk about?” Syd asked, crossing her arms. “As I remember it, I told you that we don’t have anything to discuss.”

“I may have… rethought some things,” Lucifer admitted and watched Syd carefully. Her body language was still guarded, but she wasn’t running away. Lucifer counted that as a win. He had realized that he’d been too forceful last time and decided to hold back… for now. Secretly he hoped that his investment in the ranger had been a wise one.

“What exactly?” Syd replied and took a few more steps back. 

Lucifer was actually grateful for the holy fire holding him back. The urge to pull her back to him was stronger than he thought it’d be. He answered, “About the whole… separation thing. While I think there’s a clearly better option, you seem to want it badly. I’m willing to help so long as I get my grace back.”

Syd seemed to be measuring his words and replied, “Why the sudden change in heart?”

Lucifer obviously couldn’t tell her his full plans, and surprisingly he found that he didn’t want to lie to her either. “If I can’t have you, then I’ll take getting my grace back. I certainly don’t want the Winchesters to have it.”

Syd pondered over his words with a slow nod. She had stopped moving away and seemed to believed him, at least partly.

“But the other option is still open,” Lucifer continued. “Anything you want.”

Lucifer noticed Syd stiffen, but he couldn’t help himself.

“I can give you money, fame, power… anything. I can even bring the dead to life,” Lucifer pleaded as he noticed that the holy fire was beginning to lose strength.

Syd glared at him with rage, but she replied evenly, “For your information not a single person who I’ve lost would trade my freedom for themselves.” Her small hands trembled in fury, but her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Lucifer felt an ache as he watched her stare him down. As soon as the fire went out, he’d pull her into his arms. Part of him knew that would ruin his plans to slowly gain Syd’s trust, but he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. He would hold her close until she agreed to go with him, to stay with him.

“Why is power so important to you anyway? Don’t you already have enough of it? Why do you even need to ‘have’ me? To be strong enough to kill Sam and Dean? Because I won’t let you hurt them. Those idiots are my friends, and if you try to hurt them, I’ll find a way to deal with you even if it involves dragging you into the cage myself.”

Syd’s eyes were fierce and determined, but Lucifer had stopped taking in her words after she’d mentioned the Winchesters. A tidal wave of emotions had hit him when she’d mentioned them. Anger was the easiest to identify, but he started to cool down under her gaze.

Why was he so determined to have Syd? It was true that he didn’t want the Winchesters to have his soul, but that certainly wasn’t the only reason. There had been a longing that he couldn’t explain. Whenever he was near Syd it seemed to fade away. He’d thought that it had something to do with his grace being split but now realized that it had to be more than that. Lucifer had only been near her in her dreams not in reality, so it couldn’t be a reaction to part of his grace.

Due to the deal he’d made with the ranger, he wasn’t sure if he even could use Syd’s portion of his grace. The ranger had made a deal to find Syd on the condition that Lucifer couldn’t harm her, and the only way Lucifer knew how to take energy from her soul would cause her intense pain. Syd still watched him as he tried to think of an answer. One phrase stuck in his mind: sick fascination. That had been something Syd and her friend had argued about in the cabin. Lucifer felt an attraction to Syd, and he wanted her badly. Amazed at his discovery, he tried to think of something to tell Syd that sounded a little better.

“I guess… I must like you,” Lucifer admitted finally.

“What,” Syd said quickly. It was more of a statement of disbelief than an actual question, but Lucifer decided to answer her anyway.

“I like you,” Lucifer responded more confidently. It was at least in part true, though not the full extent. 

The fire went out around him, but Syd seemed to now be rooted to the ground. He held himself back. In order to gain Syd’s trust, he had to be less invasive although it caused him an almost physical pain.

“Um… that’s… but… what?” Syd stumbled out. She seemed completely floored and didn’t even seem to notice that the fire went out.

“That’s why I want you near me, but if I can’t have that, I’ll take working with you.”

“I have… to ask Sam and Dean. But no more intruding on my dreams!”

“Well, how will we talk then? You’ll agree to meet me?”

“No… no. Umm… I’ll pray for you… to meet me in my dreams. It should work, I think,” Syd replied with a thoughtful look. 

“Should work? I’ll give you three days. If you don’t call for me by then, I’ll assume it’s not working,” Lucifer bargained. He didn’t like this idea, but he assumed that it was the best he was going to get. 

“Okay, deal,” Syd agreed hesitantly and held out her hand. 

Lucifer took it before pulling her in and kissing her cheek.

“Didn’t I tell you? Deals are sealed with a kiss,” Lucifer said to a stunned Syd before quickly flying back to Hell to wait.


	3. Enemy of My Enemy

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as Sam neared the bunker. He had decided to go for an early morning jog before anyone else woke up, knowing that Dean would likely be asleep until ten. Syd usually stayed in her room until Dean woke up, and Sean only really interacted with Sam and Dean when he was in the library or Syd was talking to them. Sam finished jogging into the bunker, wiping the sweat from his forehead. As he walked into the kitchen, he noticed Syd staring bleakly at the coffee maker.

“Do I need to make a coffee run?” Sam asked and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge. Syd had jumped at the sound of his voice; she seemed really deep in thought.

“No! Um… no. We’re good… on coffee,” Syd said tensely and noticed Sam’s questioning look. “Okay. Yeah, I’m acting weird. I know. I’ll tell you what happened. I just need time… to mentally sort through everything.”

Lucifer must have messed with her pretty badly. She seemed really out of sorts, so Sam agreed without further questions. Remembering all of the laundry he still hadn’t done, Sam excused himself and went back to his room to get started. Checking his pockets to make sure that he didn’t wash anything important, he found a business card with an address written on the back of it. He flipped it to the other side to see a name, Nadir Toma, from a computer company.

That was one of the college kids from about a week ago. Sam stared at the card wondering if he should give Nadir a call. It was probably too early now, but he was curious about what had happened to May and her stepfather. May had stabbed Sean with a piece of broken mirror, and they had been forced to leave quickly. Curiosity won out in the end, and Sam decided to text Nadir. He at least wanted to know about the others. There had been two others in the group besides May that hadn’t given up their pendants, and Sam wanted to make sure that they weren’t about to cause more havoc.

“This is the hunter from last week. Please give this number a call when you can talk,” Sam texted Nadir and hoped that he really would call back.

The bear and alligator pendants had disappeared by the time Sam and Dean had gotten back to the bunker, but Sam checked the pockets again. The pendants had probably disappeared when the mirror was broken and their source of power was destroyed. Sam sighed and got back to sorting his clothes. Not long after Sam started his second load of laundry, his phone started to vibrate. He quickly fished his phone out of his pocket and checked the number. It was Nadir.

“Hey, Nadir?” Sam asked.

“Uh, is there something wrong?” Nadir asked nervously. “I swear I told you everything that I knew.” 

“Nothing’s wrong. We just had to leave before we could check up on everything. May ran away before we even had a chance to talk to her.”

“I actually don’t know what happened to May. Her stepfather’s now in a mental hospital. He said that a he heard a couple of guys trying to save him, but he also said a bunch of other crazy stuff. Like that May was attacking him through the mirrors… She did… something to him using that mirror, didn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Sam admitted. “But the mirror’s been destroyed. It can’t hurt anyone else.” Or help them, Sam thought bitterly. Sean had told them that the mirror could be used to separate Syd’s soul from Lucifer’s grace, but to save May’s soul Sean had shattered the mirror. In fact, that surprised Sam more than anything. The fairies seemed to think poorly of humans and even angels, and to break one of their sacred objects to save a human life didn’t seem like something one would do. Although, it was more evidence to Sam’s theory that Sean liked Syd.

“Good,” Nadir replied, but he sounded uncertain. “Um, so did my pendant disappear? Aubrey was freaking out because she and Ben couldn’t find theirs.”

Sam felt relieved. All he had to worry about now was May. “Yeah, it did. The mirror must have been its power source. So the others haven’t heard from May either?”

“Well, we’re not really talking right now. There’s a bit of tension. I think the only ones talking to each other are Aubrey and Ben, but they’ve been friends since kindergarten. I doubt that they do, but I’ll ask next time I see them.”

“Thanks. That’d be a great help,” Sam replied. “So nothing odd happening since we left?”

“You mean after they found May’s stepfather with his eyes gouged out? No, not really,” Nadir answered but stopped as though he thought of something. “Wait. There was a guy named Daniel Lottsfield… Lottsford maybe. Something like that. He was asking about you guys a few days ago.”

Sam perked up. That was the name of the ranger from the cabin. Daniel’s younger brother Liam had been using a dark book of magic to summon a creature called the Goatman. Daniel had disappeared with the book after his brother was killed by the creature. Sam and Dean had tried to find him, but he seemed to be really good at living off of the grid.

“What did he say?” Sam asked excitedly.

“Not much. Just that you guys have a ‘mutual enemy,’ and he did give me a number after I admitted to giving you guys mine. He asked me to forward it if you gave me a call.”

Nadir quickly gave Sam the number, and Sam wrote it down. Sam thanked him before ending the call. Was Daniel referring to Lucifer as their ‘mutual enemy’? Crowley had told Dean that Lucifer was also hunting Daniel down, so maybe Daniel had gotten tired of fleeing and wanted to fight. Sam certainly hoped so. If they were going to help Syd and destroy Lucifer, they were going to need all of the help they could get.


	4. Return of Ranger Dan

Dean stretched before leaving his room. He walked down the hallway to the kitchen and noticed Syd in their newly furnished ‘living room.’ Really it was just one of the vacant rooms that Dean and Syd had cleaned out. Now it had a TV and a couch; Dean was actually thinking about finding a recliner. Syd was curled up on the couch reading some kind of book.

“Good morning,” Dean said and noticed Syd jump a little.

“Morning,” Syd replied with a small wave before going back to her book.

Something seemed off, but Dean decided to get breakfast and talk to Sam first. Sam was in the kitchen, drinking coffee and checking his phone. His hair still looked wet, so Dean assumed that he must have already taken a shower. Dean walked into the kitchen, and Sam looked up from his phone.

“What’s up with Syd? She’s really jumpy today,” Dean said and grabbed a mug. 

“Rough night, I guess? She said she’d tell us later,” Sam replied indifferently. 

“Okay then,” Dean said and poured his coffee, but he gave Sam a meaningful glance. 

“What?” Sam asked angrily.

“Nothing,” Dean mumbled, and Sam gave him an odd look. “I just thought… since you and Syd were getting along earlier that you’d gotten over your… issues. You do treat Syd kind of coldly. I don’t think she notices, so it’s all good. But I just think it’s odd.”

Sam sighed, “Look, Dean. I just… don’t know what’s going to happen, and I think we should prep ourselves for the worst. We don’t have a very good record of keeping the people around us safe.” 

Sam looked pleadingly at Dean, and Dean took a sip of his coffee and said nothing. Sam’s phone began to ring. Sam gave Dean a look before he put it on speaker.

“Hello?” Sam asked into the phone. 

“Um, hello,” a familiar voice replied.

It took a few seconds before Dean could place the voice; it was Ranger Dan from the cabin. Giving Sam a quick confused look, he waited for the ranger to explain himself.

“Uh, well, this is kind of… awkward, but Lucifer’s after me. I think he wants the book, but I already destroyed it. Please. Can you help me out? A demon captured me a while back, and I don’t really have anywhere to run anymore.” Dan’s voice did sound desperate.

“They caught you? How’d you get free?” Dean asked skeptically.

“Well, I took quite a beating, but I have some spells in place. They killed some of the demons but not all of them. I need your help. Please, just somewhere to hide out for a few days and get my strength back.”

Dean sighed before he nodded to Sam. Why not just let everyone inside their super-secret base? But they really needed all the help they could get, and Ranger Dan was a witch. Maybe he could help them find a spell that could help Syd.

“Alright. Where are you? We’ll come get you,” Sam responded.

“Joplin, Missouri. There was an odd case here. I thought you two might have something to do with it.”

“What’s going on?” Dean asked more excitedly than he meant to ask.

“Just vampire attacks. I’m pretty sure all of them are dead though. One hell of a vampire hunter must have passed through here.”

Dean was kind of disappointed. It had been a while since they had fought vampires, but at least someone took care of business. Sam told Daniel that they’d be there by tonight but to be ready to go; they’d text him when they got close. Daniel gave them his hotel address before ending the call.

“Why didn’t you just tell him we can be there in about 6 hours? Joplin’s not that far away. In fact, with me driving we can probably make it in about 5.” Dean smirked at Sam’s look of disapproval.

“I just feel like it’s weird. I got his number from one of the college kids, whom just happened to know who we are. He was specifically looking for us, Dean.”

“Maybe he thought that we have a safe house or something, or maybe he’s just heard of us.”

“Yeah, but the timing seems really off,” Sam sighed and drank the rest of his coffee.

Dean took another sip before putting his coffee in a thermos to go. Quickly walking back to his room to get ready to go, he decided that they should play it safe. He had some second thoughts about the ranger as well. Dean quickly got dressed and jogged down to the dungeon and grabbed the chains that they had used on Crowley; they had even worked on that witch Rowena. The chains should at least keep him unable to use magic and partially restrained. Dean smiled to himself as he walked back to meet Sam. Sam was standing in the doorway to the living room and talking to Syd as Dean approached. 

“We should be back by tonight, but I just thought that I should tell you beforehand,” Sam explained to Syd.

“Thanks, Sam. Don’t worry about me. Cas volunteered to watch ‘The Princess Bride’ with me today, so at least I’ll be entertained.”

Sam smiled and said goodbye. What Dean had said had clearly affected Sam. Dean felt a little guilty, but it was the truth.

“Bye, brat,” Dean quipped to Syd as Sam started to make his way toward the car. “Don’t burn the place down while we’re gone.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Syd said tiredly with a wave.

Dean chuckled and followed Sam out to the car.


	5. Lady-Killer in Love

Sean put the book on the table and closed his eyes wearily. Anger was making it harder for him to concentrate; the Winchesters had decided to go pick up some human instead of looking for the spear. Sean sighed and opened his eyes. Truthfully he could understand why they left. There was no real news on the spear or the leprechaun, so what else was there to do?

Sean had cooled down enough to continue his research. None of the books or files had any sort of location spell for the spear, but a few had descriptions. Granted, Sean knew exactly what the spear was capable of doing. Still he was impressed by these ‘Men of Letters.’ They never would have had access to the actual weapon, so all of their knowledge had to have come from painstaking research. Most of their information was correct, which surprised Sean the most.

The leprechaun had protections from being summoned, so none of the summoning spells that he found would work. That would make this whole debacle far too easy to solve. Sean was beginning to wonder if someone on the Tribunal was working with the leprechaun. It was the only thing that made sense to Sean, and it would explain how the leprechaun was able to steal the objects so easily. However, Sean knew he couldn’t tell the Winchesters his suspicions. They were already wary of him, so Sean would keep his traitorous thoughts to himself. 

Sean stretched and stood up. Putting the book away, he quietly searched the library. He’d thought that Syd would be in here by now, but she was nowhere to be found. The library was empty, and in fact the entire bunker had an eerie silence. He walked through the bunker, wondering where she was. A thought occurred to him that he could easily sneak out and share his theory with Oberon.

As he walked back through the corridor, he noticed that one of the doors was ajar, and he peeked inside. Syd was in the room, asleep on the couch. Her head was resting on a man’s arm, the angel he had met previously. Sean felt an odd pain in his chest as he saw Syd resting there, but when Castiel turned his head towards Sean, Sean only felt anger. The angel put his finger to his lips to signal Sean to keep his voice down. That only infuriated Sean further.

“What are you doing?” Sean whispered.

Castiel gave Sean a confused look before he replied in a low tone, “We were watching a movie, but Syd fell asleep. She looks like she had a hard time sleeping last night, so I’m just waiting for her to wake up.”

The angel’s expression softened as he glanced at Syd’s sleeping face. Sean didn’t like that at all, but he had also noticed that Syd had been acting odd today. Something had clearly happened last night. Maybe it was time to offer taking her to Avalon, but he didn’t know how Syd would react. 

“Um, so you’re an angel. Do you think that if Syd went to Avalon Lucifer wouldn’t be able to attack her like this?” Sean whispered hesitantly.

“It might work, but I doubt that Lucifer would just give up at this point. He can be extremely… stubborn, and he might even find a way to get to Avalon. It’s probably safer to keep her here, but we can ask her when she wakes up.”

“No. Just forget I said anything. She wouldn’t agree anyway,” Sean muttered and walked out of the room.

Shutting himself in the room that Syd had set up for him, he leaned against the door. His mother, the Leanansidhe, had warned him to be careful, but he hadn’t though that he was in this deep yet. Brushing his hair back with his hands, he tried to calm himself down. He hadn’t even known her for very long yet, but, for his kind, love was swift and often unforgiving. His head was leaning on the door, and he focused on his breathing. He still wanted to pull Syd away from that angel, even though Sean doubted that the angel had any bad intentions. Castiel had seemed more confused than anything.

Sean laughed a little. Never would he have imagined himself falling for a girl like Syd, much less any human, but he supposed that he got that from his mother. Remembering the night when Syd had stayed in here with him made him more at ease. The touch of her hand had felt soothing; it was at that moment that he realized that he actually liked her. Even so, he hadn’t realized the depth of it.

Sean walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it. He’d actually been a little disappointed that the wound had healed so quickly. As soon as Syd had realized that Sean was okay, she’d been hanging out with Dean. Maybe he should have pretended to be injured a little longer, but that wasn’t fair to Syd. And it was actually really petty.

“Damn, I’ve got it pretty bad,” Sean mumbled to himself. 

Sean sat on the bed, thinking about what he needed to be done first. Dealing with Lugh’s spear was still high on his list of priorities, but he was starting to think that maybe he should devote at least part of his time to Syd. No, she would probably get upset if everyone started panicking over her. If Sean could find the leprechaun, then he could find the spear, or at least they could keep him from using the spear. Sean sighed and rubbed his temples. There was a lot of work he needed to do.


	6. Two Idiots in Missouri

Sam and Dean were getting close to the hotel. The car ride had been a mostly quiet one; Sam had been feeling a little guilty about what Dean had said earlier. It was true. He had been keeping Syd at a distance to protect himself. Two of his friends, Kevin and Charlie, had died directly because of his actions, and Sam was determined not to have to go through that pain again. Dean was also mostly quiet on the drive; he was probably planning what to ask the ranger when his phone rang.

“Hello?” Dean answered as he pulled into a gas station. “Crowley? Hold on. Let me put you on speaker.”

Dean pressed a button on his phone, so Sam could hear the conversation.

“So how come one of my informants just told me that you two idiots are in Joplin?” Crowley growled.

“Wait. Why do you have people here? Was there more than just a vampire attack?” Dean asked as the phone disconnected. 

“Yes, Dean. There is an ex-ranger staying here with orders to capture Sydney,” Crowley said as he appeared in the back seat, earning a glare from Dean.

“How do you know that?” Sam asked skeptically.

“While Lucifer has taken my throne and most of my lackeys, there are still some willing to sell me information. The ranger made a deal with Lucifer. While the demon didn’t hear the exact terms, he did see the binding on the ranger’s and Lucifer’s wrists.” 

“So how do you know that it was for Syd?” Dean asked, earning an eye roll from Crowley.

“Because that’s who he’s been obsessively trying to find for over the past month, Dean. Suddenly he doesn’t seem so worried and even called off most of his demons. He’s not even really trying to find me anymore. So you should leave the ranger to me and go back to the bunker until I get the information out of him.”

“No, we’re coming along,” Sam replied firmly, and Crowley gave him an exasperated look. “What? You’re not even really concerned about Syd, so don’t play that card with me. You just don’t want Lucifer to get ahold of her. Afraid of Lucifer getting some extra power?”

“Well, yes, but there are some other… circumstances as well,” Crowley admitted, and Dean threw Crowley a knowing look.

"What? Dean?” Sam asked, angry at being left out of the loop.

“So Syd’s really your...” Dean trailed off as though looking for a specific word.

“My progeny? Yes. Believe me, I’m as freaked out as you are, but can we put that aside for now? We have bigger problems. What were you planning on doing with the former ranger? Use these? How kinky,” Crowley quipped and held up the chains.

“Yeah, now we definitely are,” Dean admitted. “We thought the timing was kinda fishy before, so we brought those just in case.”

“Well, glad to see that you have at least a couple of brain cells working together,” Crowley said with a smirk.

“Wait, Dean. You knew about Syd being related to Crowley?” Sam asked angrily. “When?”

“Not exactly. Syd told me at the convention that her last name’s MacLeod,” Dean replied defensively. “It wasn’t exactly the first thing on my list, Sam. We had other things to worry about at the time.”

“You mean like how we have other things to worry about right now? More pressing things?!” Crowley hissed. “I don’t understand how Syd being my descendant is so disturbing… unless she’s like Rowena.”

“No!” Sam and Dean both replied aggressively in unison. Syd was a lot of things: combative, snarky, and even sometimes snide. But she was nothing like Rowena, Crowley’s evil witch for a mother.

“Okay, no need to get so testy,” Crowley replied. “So just what are you planning to do with dear Daniel?”

“Well, we were originally just going to talk to him first, but now we should probably get him cuffed and back to the bunker to ask him a few questions,” Dean answered Crowley warily.

“Back to the bunker? Are you planning on just handing Syd over to him?”

“No, he’ll have the cuffs on, and we’ll put him in the dungeon. Worked pretty well with you, didn’t it?” Sam retorted.

“Yeah, but I am out now, aren’t I?”

“What do you suggest then?” Dean asked before Sam could retaliate.

“Thank you, Dean. First we cuff him and render him powerless. Then we ask him some question. If we don’t like the answers, we leave him for the demons to clean up.”

“We’ll see what happens,” Dean said, pulling out of the parking lot. He quickly drove up to the hotel.

After they’d parked the car, Sam checked the backseat to find Crowley, and the cuffs, gone. Daniel was already waiting at the front of the hotel. Sam and Dean quickly walked up to him and led him to the side of the building where there were any cameras.

“So we need to leave. Now,” Daniel said quickly. “I saw a couple of demons around here. I don’t think that they’ve seen me yet.”

“Really now, Daniel? It’s not like you’re hiding or anything,” Dean said quietly.

“I don’t know what’s going on. We really need—” Daniel was cut off by Crowley cuffing him and knocking him out with an old metal trashcan lid.

“Crowley! What gives?!” Dean asked angrily. 

“He set off an alarm spell. Demons will be rushing here any minute now. We need to go with your dumb idea because right now… it’s the only one we’ve got,” Crowley snapped as he fished a tracking token out of Daniel’s pocket.

Dean quickly pulled the car to the side, so Crowley and Sam could put Daniel inside. Crowley got in next to Daniel and volunteered to knock him out again should he try to cause any trouble. Sam quickly got into the car and shut the door as Dean took off for the road.


	7. Angels and Fairies

The movie was now over, and the credits moved down the screen. Syd turned to Cas to get a peek at his face. She had fallen asleep half-way through the movie, but Cas had waited for her to wake up before continuing the movie. It was a little embarrassing. Syd turned away as she could feel her face getting hot. She hadn’t expected to fall asleep at all and especially not actually on him.

“I liked that movie,” Cas said, and Syd turned back to look at him. “Good choice, Syd.” Cas gave her a small smile.

Syd felt a little nervous but smiled back. 

“It’s one of my favorites for a reason, Cas.”

Cas looked at Syd for a few moments before his face grew somber. “I know that you probably don’t want to talk about whatever Lucifer did, but could you tell me? I want to help. You seem pretty ‘shaken up’.”

Syd almost laughed at Cas’ use of slang but sobered at the idea of discussing Lucifer. She’d been thinking it over but couldn’t really find a way to tell them. Syd fidgeted with her sleeves while she tried to think of a way to tell Cas.

“Well, um… Lucifer said that he wants to work together,” Syd blurted out.

“Work together?” Cas asked for clarification.

“He said that he wanted his grace back, and he doesn’t want Sam and Dean to get ahold of it. He promised to stay out of my dreams if I agreed. I told him that I’d talk it over with Sam and Dean first.”

“There’s something else, isn’t there?” Cas asked kindly, studying her face. “That wouldn’t be enough to perturb you to this degree.”

“Yeah,” Syd agreed and laughed a little. “I know it’s some kind of trick or plan, but… it’s really weird to think about.” Syd stopped and looked uncertainly into Cas’ eyes. “He also said… that he likes me.”

Even Cas seemed floored by that revelation. His eyes opened wider, and he seemed to give it some thought.

“Well, he might just be trying to disturb you,” Cas admitted, and Syd nodded, feeling a little more at ease. “Or he might be telling the truth.”

Syd tensed back up and stared at Cas in confusion.

“I truthfully don’t know. Lucifer’s… well… his intentions are often hard to read, but he tends to follow the same pattern of… seduction. He’s been much more forceful with you than he was with Sam, and Sam was supposed to be his true vessel. At first I assumed that it might be to unsettle you and make it easier for him to manipulate you, but now… just keep your defenses up.”

Syd nodded and bit her lip. The thought that the actual devil had a weird thing for her was enough to make her head spin. Cas must have noticed her trepidation because he put a hand on her shoulder.

“I know I’m supposed to say that everything will be fine, but right now I don’t know what will happen,” Cas said awkwardly.

Syd laughed a little and replied, “Thanks for the effort, Cas.” Trust him to be painfully honest.

“But I’m here. We’re here for you Syd, and we’ll do whatever we can to help,” Cas assured her. 

“Because letting Lucifer get ahold of me would be bad news for everyone involved.”

“Yes, and because you’re our friend Syd,” Cas replied with a small, bashful smile. “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

A single tear had drifted down Syd’s face, and Syd gave Cas a hug. 

“No, you said something right. Exactly right. Thanks, Cas,” Syd replied as Cas slowly put his arms around her. All of it was still a giant mess, but at the moment Syd thought that it all sucked just a little bit less. A knock on the open door startled them, and the embrace broke apart. Sean was standing at the doorway.

“So Sam and Dean are finally back, and they’re currently fighting in the garage with some guy in cuffs,” Sean said casually, but his eyes flashed at Cas with anger. “I think that they might need your help.”

Castiel gave Sean a confused look but thanked him. As Cas left the room, Sean’s body language became a little more relaxed, and the anger faded from his eyes. He sighed, brushed his hair back, and looked away from Syd. Did fairies not like angels? Sam had said that the leprechaun had seemed dismissive of angels. Maybe they just didn’t like the magical competition.

“You could come with me… to Avalon,” Sean said quietly from the doorway. “Our king believes that Lucifer would have a much harder time harassing you there. You’d be a honored guest, and you could leave anytime you wanted.”

Syd was struck dumb for a few seconds. Sean appeared to be genuine, and his eyes seemed to be pleading with her. Going to the land of the fairies did seem to be interesting, although Syd thought that Dean would certainly disagree. 

“Thank you for your offer, but no,” Syd said with a small smile. She could hear the guys struggling up the hallway and down to the staircase; this guy was giving even an angel a hard time. Syd got up from the couch and walked to the doorway where Sean stood with his eyes looking downcast. She put her hand on his shoulder and continued, “It’s not because I don’t trust you or anything like that. I can tell that you’ve really been trying to help me. But if I’m going to fight, I’d rather do it with my friends, even if that fight is harder than the one I’d fight alone.”

Syd gave him another smile and removed her hand. She walked down the hallway to her room. Before going into her room, she turned back to glance at Sean. Her words hadn’t seemed to have the effect that she wanted; he still looked pretty despondent. Syd wondered if there was any better way that she could have turned him down before going into her room.


	8. Dan the Douche

Getting Ranger Dan into the dungeon had been an intense struggle, but they had done it, mostly due to Cas’ help. Crowley had been useless as usual, and Dean and Sam weren’t strong enough to hold him. Even without using his powers, Daniel was strong enough to take on two hunters. Now he was strapped by normal chains and the magic-zapping manacles to a chair in the dungeon and wouldn’t look any of them in the eyes. Dean wasn’t surprised by that. The last time that Sam and Dean had met him he’d seemed like a good guy; Lucifer likely had some sort of bargaining chip.

“So, Daniel, what’s your reward for being a skeevy douche? Did Lucifer promise you something? Money? Power?” Dean asked roughly. 

Daniel didn’t say anything, but Dean noticed a vein in his neck twitch. Despite treating him so roughly, Dean did feel kind of bad for the guy. Daniel looked awful, so the part about him being captured by demons was most likely true although not the entire story. 

“Well, Dean, I can get that information,” Crowley interjected. “You see, Daniel, I may be considered a traitor now, but I was once known as the King of the Crossroads. I can even see some minute details of deals that aren’t even mine. They just take a bit more force. Sorry, darling Daniel, but this is going to hurt you a lot more than it will me.” Crowley stepped towards Daniel. His eyes glowed a foreboding red, and his mouth twisted into a wicked grin. 

“Okay! Okay. Just don’t. I made a deal with Lucifer. He said that if I gave him Sydney, he’d bring back my brother Liam,” Daniel explained and looked at Sam and Dean with pleading eyes. “Don’t act like you’re so much better than me. What would you do to bring back your family?”

“I wouldn’t offer up an innocent person like a bargaining chip!” Dean argued. “And last time I met your brother he was planning on using us as sacrifices, so excuse me if I’m not too sympathetic.”

“You don’t understand. Magic… it’s like a drug, particularly dark magic. He wasn’t always like the way you saw him that night. Our parents died performing some of the spells in that book he was using. If anyone should have died, it should have been me! I was the one who kept that book for so long despite knowing what it had inside. I didn’t think that my brother was capable of killing people for more spell books… or more power.”

Daniel had his head in his hands. He looked like a broken man. Dean knew that despite what he had told Daniel that he would go to crazy lengths to keep Sam safe, and he was finding it hard to blame the man.

“That still doesn’t change the fact that you were willing to exchange Syd for your brother to the actual devil,” Sam retorted. “Just what do you think he plans to do with her?”

“Look. Part of the deal was that if Lucifer or one of his demons hurts Syd, he’ll get sealed away, so I’m pretty sure that he won’t let anyone harm her.”

“Wait, what?” Sam asked and looked to Dean and Crowley.

“Yeah, I’m not a monster. I wouldn’t trade someone for my brother without knowing that person wouldn’t be hurt.”

“How did you know that we were even at that campus?” Sam asked, changing the subject. “Are there demons helping you?”

“If there were demons helping me, do you think that I’d be tied to this chair right now?”

“Good point,” Crowley admitted, and Dean looked at him with exasperation. 

“So how did you find the campus?” Dean asked.

“I looked online. Some guy got his eyes ripped out in a room full of mirrors and said that there were two guys that helped him. Once I found out that he was the stepfather of a girl murdered on campus, I went there to ask around. Just got lucky, I guess. When I didn’t get any calls, I went to investigate what was going on in Joplin, and that’s when you called me.”

Dean had to admit that the story made sense, but he wasn’t so sure about Lucifer’s deal with Daniel. If Lucifer had made the deal not to hurt Syd, how was he planning on using his grace? Wasn’t that the reason he had sent Ranger Dan after Syd? None of that made sense to Dean, but by the look on Daniel’s face he believed it. 

“Lucifer seemed to believe that the girl had something of his. If you can just convince her to give it to me, I can give it to Lucifer, and he won’t need to go after her anymore,” Daniel pleaded.

Dean turned to Sam and gave him a look. Lucifer hadn’t exactly lied to the ranger, but he sure hadn’t told the entire truth.

“It’s not that easy,” Sam replied.

“How so? Isn’t that what’s best for the girl too? Whatever she has can’t be worth all this trouble.”

Dean said nothing, and Crowley and Sam kept quiet too. They must have thought the same thing as Dean had. It was probably better for them not to tell him about Syd’s soul. Maybe they could trick him into believing that Lucifer really was just after an object. 

The door to the dungeon area opened, and Cas called out, “Dean, Sam. I need to speak with you.” Cas motioned for them to follow him quickly and left with Sam walking behind him. Dean turned to Crowley to see him looking far too happy at the chance to have some alone time with Daniel.

“Crowley, you come too,” Dean commanded. Crowley rolled his eyes but followed Dean outside the dungeon.


	9. Newfound Feelings

The lake had been really lively during the day; humans had littered the park with their children. As night began to fall, most of them had left. Lucifer walked back over to an empty bench and took a seat. He had wondered if his feelings about humans had changed due to his fascination with Syd. Looking around the park, he had decided that his feeling were less intense. Humans were still irritating creatures to him, but he no longer felt the need to wipe them out entirely. The constant threat of two especially irritating humans trying to interfere with his plans irritated him, and even if Syd agreed to go with Lucifer, he doubted that the Winchesters would do nothing. He supposed that he could just keep Syd with him in Hell indefinitely, but Lucifer enjoyed the Earth that his father had created.

Birds chirped in the trees to his right, and Lucifer smiled. Syd’s dreams were always in places with nature. In her dreams Lucifer had always felt at ease, but Syd clearly didn’t feel the same about Lucifer. She always tensed when he appeared, even when he didn’t directly do anything. Lucifer wondered what else he could do to lower her guard. The crisp night air failed to calm him down as he tried to relax. Now that he had promised not to interfere in Syd’s dreams, he had never wanted to see her more. His hands grabbed onto the bench as he reminisced on his moments with her.

Lucifer chuckled softly as he remembered the look on Syd’s face before he had left. After promising to wait for her call, he couldn’t resist kissing her. It had only been on the cheek, but that wasn’t beneficial to his plan to gain her trust. He did note that while Syd had been confused she hadn’t looked scared or revolted. Next time he’d have to hold himself back though; otherwise she might not agree to work with him. Lucifer sighed in frustration.

“Um, Your Highness?” a demon said cautiously as he appeared beside Lucifer.

“Yes?”

“I have come to report that the ranger has been captured by the Winchesters,” the demon said fearfully.

Fury coursed through Lucifer as he glared at his subordinate. The Winchesters had always been exceedingly good at throwing wrenches into his plans, and no doubt that they would try to influence Syd to stay away from him.

“How much do they know?” Lucifer growled, and the demon shivered.

“I don’t know, but we think… that Crowley may have helped them.”

Lucifer groaned. Crowley would likely be able to tell that the ranger had made some kind of deal, and he was probably the reason that the Winchesters had gotten suspicious of the ranger in the first place.

“I didn’t know that Crowley was so fond of the Winchesters,” Lucifer snapped.

“Um… well,” the demon said hesitantly.

“What now?” Lucifer asked as he put his hand over his eyes.

“I actually had found more information on Sydney. It might have something to do with why Crowley was so eager to help them.”

“I’m listening.”

“Sydney’s last name is MacLeod, which is the same as Crowley’s original name.”

“Wait… what actually is Crowley’s original name?”

“Fergus MacLeod.”

Lucifer laughed. No wonder Crowley had changed his name. And now Lucifer had Syd’s last name, which opened a few more doors, but he’d have to be careful. Syd hadn’t reacted well to him prying into her personal life before; even though he’d only offered to bring her loved ones back to life. While threatening or kidnapping her family might get her to go with him, it could also push her to more drastic measures. Plus Lucifer hadn’t liked the way her eyes had looked. An angry Syd was much easier for him to handle than a heartbroken Syd.

As Lucifer lightened up, he also began to see that the Winchesters capturing the ranger could be a good thing. How else would the ranger be able to get inside the bunker to get Syd? The place was so heavily fortified that the devil himself couldn’t break inside and steal Syd away. Maybe it was a part of the ranger’s plan.

Syd wouldn’t be happy to find out that Lucifer had sent someone after her. If Lucifer didn’t handle the situation exactly right, he could lose any chance of gaining her trust. For some reason he couldn’t explain, it was important to him that she come willingly, so using her family as bait wasn’t his first option. It had the added benefit of Syd being less likely to try to escape at every opportunity as well.

“Um, sir?” the demon asked hesitantly.

“What else did you learn about Syd?”

“Uh… she has two sisters. Her parents got divorced and remarried,” the demon read off of a list.

“No, not that. Things I can use to lure her like… what kind of things does she like?”

“Uh, that she likes?”

“How else am I going to keep her entertained after I get her? You think that she’ll just sit around here and do nothing? If I don’t find a way to keep her happy, then she’ll find a way to get back to those Winchesters. She’s incredibly tenacious,” Lucifer replied carefully. No need to let the demons in on how he felt about Syd. Even he was having trouble coming to terms with his newfound feelings.

“She likes… conventions. Besides that I don’t really know, but I’ll find out soon and report it to you,” the demon said quickly.

“Good. You continue your research on Syd, and I’ll try to make sense of the mess that this Daniel has made for me,” Lucifer said, and the demon vanished. Lucifer was going to need to find a way to explain the Daniel situation to Syd and fast.


	10. Plan A

Cas had directed the group to the war room. Sam hoped that it was too far away for Syd to stumble across it; she might get a little freaked out that they’d brought one of Lucifer’s minions into her only safe place. Although Sam couldn’t really blame her, he thought it was a better idea for the experienced people to talk it over first before telling her. Sean had walked in before Dean could close the doors.

“So you guys are kidnapping people now?” Sean asked.

“We didn’t really have much of a choice,” Dean replied bitterly.

“Oh, so you two now have a pet fairy. How cute,” Crowley said as Sean glared at him. 

“It’s better than being one of Lucifer’s pets,” Sean retorted and turned to Sam with Crowley throwing Sean a dirty look behind him. “And you let a demon in here? Aren’t they after her on Lucifer’s orders?”

“Look, Sean. It’s… complicated,” Sam explained. “Just know that he’s on our side… at the moment at least.”

“Thanks for the huge vote of confidence, Moose,” Crowley quipped, and Sam rolled his eyes.

“So what do we do with Ranger Dan?” Dean asked around the room. “Keep him trapped in the dungeon so he can’t get to Syd?”

“Get to Syd?” Cas asked with confusion.

“Yeah, he said that he made some kind of deal with Lucifer to bring back his brother in exchange for Syd,” Sam clarified.

“Which just sounds fishy to me,” Dean said. “I mean, the reason that Lucifer wants her so badly is so that he can use her soul, so why would Lucifer make a deal to not hurt her? He can’t use its power without touching it, so how’s he going to do it without hurting her?”

“We should give Daniel some tough love. Maybe then he’ll give us a better story,” Crowley offered with a smirk.

“Oh,” Cas said as though he had an epiphany.

“What, Cas?” Dean asked.

“Syd told me about what happened the other night that unsettled her,” Cas said with a look of unease. “Lucifer told her that he likes her.”

The room went silent as everyone stared at Cas in shock. Sam hadn’t expected that at all, and now he felt bad about going to get Daniel before talking to her. To be honest, he had been relieved that she hadn’t been ready to discuss what had disturbed her, but now he felt awful. No wonder she’d been so shocked that morning. Even if it was a lie, the devil telling you that he likes you would be pretty alarming.

“What,” Dean said evenly, but Sam could tell that he was worried.

“And he said that he’s willing to work with us as long as he gets his grace back,” Cas continued thoughtfully.

Sean, Dean, and Crowley all had the same look of confusion mixed with terror and anger on their faces. Under different circumstances Sam would have thought it was funny, but now all Sam could see was Syd’s thousand yard stare from this morning. He wished that he had tried to talk to her earlier. 

“So I guess, Daniel is Lucifer’s plan A, and working with us would be his plan B,” Sam said to break the silence.

“So could someone please explain to me why we’re letting a potential kidnapper stay in the same place as his intended victim?” Sean asked angrily.

“Don’t worry,” Sam assured him, although he knew that Sean had a point. “Daniel can’t use magic due to his restraints, but we should probably have a rotating shift watch him for tonight or until we can agree on what to do with him.”

“And I’ll put the bunker on lockdown, so if you’ve got somewhere to be, leave now. Not even the dungeon door with open once I start it, so we’ll have to have someone operate the controls when we switch shifts,” Dean explained, and no one left. 

“Okay, I’ll tell Syd. She has a right to know, and she might feel better if I’m the one to tell her,” Cas informed them before walking out of the room.

Sean looked angry but seemed to think that Cas was right. Sam sighed as he got up to leave the room. It would take a couple minutes for Sam to get to the dungeon, so Sam asked Dean to give him five minutes before Dean pressed the switch. Dean agreed, and they started to leave the room. 

“You two behave yourselves,” Dean ordered and got a scowl from Sean and a smirk from Crowley.

As Sam walked down the hallway, he wondered what Cas was telling Syd. Cas was known for being especially blunt, but Syd seemed to take his brand of honesty pretty well. Sam got to the door and pulled it open. Behind the bookshelves was the dungeon, but Sam got an odd feeling as he approached. He soon realized what the feeling was when he stepped inside the room; it was dread.

The table was still secured in the demon trap, but Daniel was nowhere to be seen. Sam heard a sound from his right and moved just in time to dodge a punch. Daniel was still in the handcuffs but he had found a way to unlatch them from the table. 

“Come on, Daniel. We can talk this out,” Sam tried to reason with Daniel as he avoided another punch and backed away. His foot caught on a box, and Daniel landed a punch, knocking Sam to the ground. There was a small clink as the key to the handcuffs fell out of Sam’s pocket to the floor. 

Daniel quickly snatched up the key, and Sam picked himself up off the ground as Daniel bolted to the door. Sam almost made it before the door slammed in his face. Using his shoulder he tried to break down the door until he noticed the faint glow of red lights. The bunker was now on lockdown.

There was now a witch loose in their base, and Sam was now trapped. Sam quickly called Dean and hoped for the best.


	11. witchy Willpower

Sean left the room, anything to get away from that demon. Crowley was infuriating and kept asking questions about Syd, which put Sean on edge. Why was that demon so curious about Syd if he was on their side? Even Sam had seemed hesitant to let the demon help them. The sound of talking came from the library as he got closer; Sean had figured that he could hide out there until someone needed him. Syd was talking to Cas, and Sean felt his heart lurch as he stopped walking closer.

Syd had turned down his offer to take her to Avalon, pretty brutally in his opinion, but as Sean had given it more thought, he’d realized that he really hadn’t done much to gain her trust. Their first meeting certainly hadn’t been under friendly circumstances. Sean had bewitched one of her friends for his own amusement and had tried to do the same to Syd. She had rewarded him with a fistful of salt for his efforts, but that didn’t really make them even, especially since Syd had helped him save his mother. Finding his mother bleeding out on her bedroom floor had been a huge blow. Sean doubted that he would have snapped out of his shock in time to save his mother had Syd not been there.

His act of breaking the mirror had saved the soul of a human girl, but it had also doomed Syd to Lucifer’s whims. If Sean could find a way to put it back together, Syd might be able to get away from Lucifer at least in her dreams. Sean still couldn’t believe that Lucifer might be his rival for Syd’s affections. Now Sean was even more determined to find a way to fix the mirror. It likely wouldn’t stop Lucifer from hunting her down, but it might buy enough time for the Winchesters to find a way to seal him away. Then Sean would only have Cas to worry about, and Sean wasn’t entirely sure how Cas felt about her.

“Cas!” Dean’s voice resounded through the hallway as he came barreling towards the library.

“Yes, Dean?” Cas asked with a worried look.

“Ranger Dan… is out,” Dean said, trying to gain some air. “Sam got trapped in the dungeon. I can’t get him out, or Dan might escape.”

“I’ll stay with Syd. We can barricade ourselves in her room until you guys find him,” Sean volunteered. 

“Okay, but don’t come out until Sam calls you. He can’t come out until we take the bunker out of lockdown,” Dean told them.

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Syd replied, but her face looked worried.

Sean glanced at Cas to see him staring at Sean with slight suspicion, but he seemed to regard the ranger as the bigger threat. Cas and Dean split up to get Crowley and find Daniel as Sean and Syd walked quickly towards the hallway. Sean snuck a peek at Syd. She looked worried, and he briefly though about holding her hand but dismissed the thought. He could really only handle the one rejection of today.

Syd pulled out in front of him as they neared her room, and Sean checked behind them to make sure they weren’t being followed. Suddenly one of the empty room doors flew open, and Sean felt something hit him as he was thrown back into the wall. Cuffs were clasped around his wrists before he could stand. Sean gasped in pain as they manacles stung his arms; they were made of iron.

Syd took a step back but stood her ground. Her eyes searched for a weapon, and she braced herself.

“Just give me what Lucifer wants, and I’ll free your friend here,” Daniel said and held up the key.

“Don’t you think I would if I could?!” Syd snapped back furiously.

Sean gathered himself and slammed into Daniel, but he was too weak to do much damage. Daniel quickly regained his balance and slammed him back onto the floor. Sean looked up to see Daniel hovering over him as though deciding Sean’s fate. Suddenly Daniel flew back like he was hit by a gust of wind. Sean had felt the magic and looked at Syd to see her with her hand outstretched and eyes wide open. Clearly she hadn’t known that she could do that either.

Quickly scooping up the key that Daniel had dropped, Sean got up and ran towards Syd. She still seemed to be in shock, so Sean grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him as he ran for her room. They barely looked the door before they heard someone slam into it. Luckily the bunker doors were firm and didn’t even budge under the weight. Sean used the key on his restraints and sighed in relief as they slid off. 

Now able to use a little magic, he moved a dresser in front of the door. They could hear Daniel pleading with them from outside the door. As he must have realized that they were out of his grasp, Daniel muttered a short curse. Sean saw that Syd had regained some of her composure and had pulled out her phone to text someone. The chains had taken a lot out of Sean. He collapsed on the floor on by Syd’s bed and struggled to catch his breath. 

“Are you alright, Sean?” Syd asked, getting on her knees beside him. “Oh, ouch!”

His wrists had turned a bright red from contact with the consecrated iron chains. It wasn’t as painful as Sean expected it to be, but he figured that had something to do with all of the testosterone still coursing through him. Syd stood up quickly, surprising him, and ran to her nightstand. She came back with an aloe vera ointment.

“Will this help any?” Syd asked with worried eyes.

“Yeah, thanks,” Sean said with a smile. Sean hoped that they could catch Daniel before he caused any more trouble, and Sean hoped that sadist Crowley would be the one to catch him.


	12. Dealing with Dan

Dean raced back to Syd’s room angry at himself. He should have stayed with Syd and Sean to make sure that they got to the room safely. Well, Sean had been there at least, and that was probably part of the reason that Daniel hadn’t gotten Syd. The other part was definitely Syd. Dean was proud of the wily new addition to their bunker and raced to her door. 

“Everyone alright in there?” Dean asked and knocked on the door.

“Yes!” Sean and Syd replied. They sounded tired but otherwise okay.

“Good! Stay put until we find him.”

A sound echoed from Dean’s left, and he saw a glimpse of Daniel running away with something wrapped up in a sheet in his arms. Dean quickly followed Daniel and picked up his pace. Daniel quickly ran around a corner a few yards ahead and disappeared from Dean’s sight. Without warning an invisible force slammed into one of his feet causing him to trip and fall sideways into the wall. Clear wrap had been taped across the hallway. 

“Dammit,” Dean muttered and pulled himself back up. This was getting ridiculous, and he’d have to keep an eye out for booby traps now.

As he approached the corner where Daniel had disappeared, he noticed a slightly off clear wrap trap. Dean was relieved that Daniel had gotten sloppy with this one. Quickly jumping over it, his joy was short-lived. At head level, another trap waited to wrap itself around Dean’s face after he hit it, causing Dean a few brief moment of panic. Dean ripped it off and threw it to the ground. Just how many more of these did Daniel set up?

“Son of a bitch!” Dean growled.

“What happened to you?” Crowley asked from behind Dean.

“Booby traps. More than a few of them. You?” Dean asked, spitefully kicking the rest of the wrap out of the way. He’d noticed that part of Crowley’s suit now looked drenched in something.

“Holy water,” Crowley replied, and his voice dripped with hatred. “When we find him, I am going to shove—!”

“Dean! He went into one of the rooms!” Cas called from around the corner where Daniel had disappeared. 

Dean walked over to see Cas standing in front of one of the unused rooms. The door was, of course, locked from the inside. Banging on the door, Dean waited briefly for a reaction, but Daniel said nothing.

“Hey, Daniel! Don’t make me break down this damn door!” Dean yelled before rolling his eyes at how pathetic he had sounded.

“I don’t think that’s going to help, Dean,” Cas said.

“Totally didn’t realize that, Cas. Thanks,” Dean quipped.

“You’re welcome, Dean.”

“Hey, Wings, I think he was being sarcastic,” Crowley said.

Cas looked at Dean and Crowley with exasperation before responding, “I’m aware. Thanks.”

“Okay, guys. We really need to get him out of there. Any ideas?” Dean asked although a little impressed by Cas’ sarcasm. 

Cas and Crowley went silent, and Dean tried to think of how they could open the door. The doors in the bunker were warded against magic opening them, so Cas and Crowley likely couldn’t help open them. Breaking down the door wasn’t really an option either, despite what Dean had said. Dean wondered if a little old fashioned lock picking would work. In the top drawer of his dresser was one of his lock picking sets, and he quickly ran to retrieve it. Cas gave him a look of confusion until Dean started to pick the lock. Dean gave Crowley a gesture for them to keep talking to cover up the noise that unlocking the door would make. 

“Daniel, I feel like we may have gotten off on the wrong foot,” Crowley spoke up as Dean worked on the lock. “You seem to be at least a little more capable than these idiots! Tell me what deal you made. Surely you can’t believe in hunting down an innocent person for your own selfish reasons. I may even be able to help you. It’d cost you your soul, but do you really believe that you’re going to heaven after this little fiasco?”

With a final click the door unlocked. Dean quietly twisted the handle and opened it. A flash of light temporarily blinded him, and Dean blinked quickly to restore his vision. When the black spots had faded, he looked around the room. Cas was standing in the room with Crowley looking at sigils made on the wall and the floor. Daniel was nowhere to be seen, and the sigils seemed to be made with blood.

“Well, that’s inconsiderate of him,” Crowley quipped. “He left quite a mess, and I was trying so hard to be understanding.”

“Where did he go? How--?” Dean asked and turned to Cas. The lockdown was supposed to prevent anyone from using magic to get out of the bunker.

“It’s a ‘teleportation’ spell,” Cas informed Dean. “He would have needed to have another one set up in advance, but it would get around the bunker’s protection. We need to clean it up soon. Otherwise he may be able to get back here using it.”

Dean was at a loss for words. Two hunters, a demon, and an angel had been beaten by a forest ranger. Dean sighed and remembered that Daniel had been carrying something.

“Did you get a good look at what he was carrying, Cas?” 

“No, he had it wrapped in bedding, so I didn’t get a ‘good look.’”

“Wait a minute,” Dean said as he remembered what room Daniel had been inside. It had been Sean’s.

Dean raced to Sean’s room to find that the mirror was missing.

“Crap.”


	13. Chat Between Friends

Sitting on her bed, Syd noticed voices coming from outside her bedroom. They were too far away for Syd to hear the actual words, but she assumed that they were still searching for the missing captive. Her phone sat silent on the bed as she looked at it expectantly.

“Hey,” Sean said quietly, but it startled Syd a little.

“Yes?” Syd asked and looked to where he was sitting on the floor with her cat. She had offered him a seat on the bed, but he had gone completely silent. Syd had assumed that he was in pain and just didn’t feel like moving.

“Why didn’t you run earlier?” Sean asked as he turned to look at her. “Did you just feel bad for me?” Sean’s voice was quiet, but his eyes bore into hers.

“No! I think the answer’s pretty obvious,” Syd replied, and she could feel her face getting hot.

“What?” Sean sat up straighter, and Syd couldn’t help feeling like he was teasing her.

“Idiot,” Syd mumbled as she turned her face away. “Friends don’t just leave friends behind. If I thought that you could escape, I would have, but I wasn’t just going to leave you there.”

Sean quietly stood up, and Syd could hear his footsteps as he walked towards her.

“I thought you said that’s why you wouldn’t go to Avalon with me. Because you’d rather stay with your friends?”

Syd crossed her arms defensively and explained, “I never said that you weren’t one of them. It’s not like you’re leaving right away. Don’t you have a spear to find?”

Sean sat down on the bed in front of her, and Syd looked at his face. He was probably just teasing her, but he was smiling with such a joyous look on his face.

“What?” Syd asked defensively.

“Nothing. Just happy that you like me,” Sean said teasingly.

“I wouldn’t go that far, especially not when you’re messing with my head!” Syd snapped at him out of embarrassment.

“I’m not. I’m just… relieved,” Sean explained and turned away with a slight blush on his face. “I just didn’t think that you thought of me as a friend, and that’s why you didn’t want to go with me.”

“No! It’s… well, to be honest, I don’t really like the idea of going there in the first place. I’m sorry. I know it’s your home, but from what I’ve heard it doesn’t sound very… human-friendly.”

“Well, that’s true,” Sean admitted wearily. “But you’re a witch, so it’ll be a little different for you. Awesome throw by the way.”

“Yeah, I still have no idea how I did that,” Syd replied looking at her hands skeptically. She still couldn’t quite believe that she’d thrown a full grown man with her mind, but in that moment she had felt the power and instinctively known what to do.

“It must be because of how much you like me. You couldn’t stand the idea of losing such an amazing person.”

“Haha, very funny,” Syd responded and noticed that he had been watching her reaction. A thought occurred to her suddenly, and her face must have given it away.

“What?” Sean asked her hesitantly.

“Well, I only told Cas this, but last night Lucifer told me that… he likes me,” Syd finished uncomfortably.

“And?” Sean asked, and his smile faltered.

“And maybe he didn’t mean it in the way I thought he did, but he might not even know that.”

“How so?”

“Maybe he only likes me as a friend, or he thinks that I’m interesting. I doubt that Lucifer has any real friends.”

“What does he normally do in your dreams?” Sean asked with razor sharp focus.

“Well, I don’t actually remember a lot of them. Just the more recent ones. He’s really kind of… grabby.”

“Does he just grab you or has he done more?” 

Syd could tell her face was probably as red as an apple, but she replied, “More. He kissed me last time but only on the cheek. I think it’s more to mess with my head than anything.”

“Then I can definitely say that he doesn’t think of you as a friend. Syd, the deal he made with that ranger… I think it’s safe to say that’s he’s not after the power anymore. You need to be more careful.”

“I think he’s just mixed up. He thinks he likes me that way because he’s never really had a friend. And he’s just being super possessive and petty because he doesn’t know how to deal with it,” Syd reasoned.

Sean grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. His serious expression kept her quiet, and his eyes pleaded with her.

“Don’t do that. Don’t make excuses for him. The reason he doesn’t have any friends is because he treats others like possessions, toys, or trash. Don’t feel sorry for him. It’ll only encourage him.”

Syd nodded. Lucifer had just tried to make a deal with Syd and promptly stabbed her in the back when things didn’t immediately go his way. After telling Sean that he was her friend and comparing his motivations to Lucifer’s, it was no wonder Sean was angry. But Syd still thought that it would explain some of Lucifer’s behavior. Suddenly her phone rang, and Sean jumped back in surprise. It was Sam, so the bunker probably wasn’t under lockdown anymore.

“Yeah?” Syd answered.

“You guys can come out now, but I’ve got some bad news. Daniel escaped, and he took something with him.”

“Crap. What did he take? One of the weapons from the library?” 

“The mirror, Syd,” Sam said with a tired sigh.

Syd looked to Sean in shock. His face had gone pale, so he must have heard Sam too. At least it’s broken, Syd thought hopefully.


	14. Responsible Sam

Sam sat in the war room by himself waiting for the others to arrive. Guilt was quietly eating at him. Daniel wouldn’t have gotten out if he’d been more vigilant, then they’d still have Daniel and the mirror. Now they had neither.

“Good job, Moose,” Crowley quipped, undoubtedly sensing Sam’s inner turmoil, and Sam glared back at him.

“It’s not Sam’s fault, Crowley, and you know it,” Dean snapped as he entered the room followed by Syd.

Crowley rolled his eyes and took a seat. He clearly thought otherwise, but he didn’t seem to be willing to fight with Dean in front of Syd.

“Yeah, hindsight’s 20/20,” Syd said and took a seat next to Sam. “It’s easy to think of what you should have done after the fact, and it seems to have been a plan that everyone agreed on.” Syd gave Crowley a measuring look, and he scoffed.

“Why do you think Ranger Dan took the mirror?” Dean asked and tried to steer the conversation away from the blame game.

“I don’t think Lucifer actually told ‘Ranger Dan’ what he was after. Daniel seemed to think that what I had was an actual object. Maybe he could feel the power that the mirror was giving off and thought he could use it to buy himself some time,” Syd added thoughtfully. “Although I was thinking about it earlier… I think that Daniel planned on getting captured at some point. Maybe he was hoping that you wouldn’t but planned a backup strategy just in case. He probably had a lock pick or something in his jacket lining or something. That would explain how he got free from the table. He didn’t even really use magic until the end, just well-planned maneuvers.”

“So we got beat by a magic-less ranger. That’s comforting,” Crowley said snidely before getting up. “I’ll check with my contacts. I’ll see what Daniel’s going to do with the mirror. You guys should probably get to cleaning up the mess. Don’t want him to make a return visit.”

Crowley left quickly, and Sam felt more at ease. He hadn’t expected Syd to defend him, but she seemed to just be going with the flow.

“I do have a question though,” Syd said. “What should I do about Lucifer’s offer?”

“What offer?” Dean asked but gave Sam a quick glance.

“He said that he’ll stop harassing me if I help him get back his grace, but after he just double crossed me, I’m not very happy with him.”

“Take the deal,” Sam said and noticed Dean staring at him. “Look, there’s no use in Syd being hassled every other night. We can decide which information to give him and see what he does with it. But we should probably try to get the mirror back, Syd. We don’t want him to know what that can do.”

“But don’t let him bargain with you for it,” Sean insisted as he walked into the room. “He doesn’t have the full mirror, so it’s basically useless. I hid one of the pieces just in case.”  
Sam was irritated by Sean’s distrust of them, but he had to admit that it came in handy. Syd nodded in agreement and seemed to be thinking it over.

“Um, Syd, can I talk to you alone for a few minutes ?” Sam asked.

Dean looked curious but went back to looking at one of his magazine, but Sean looked furious. 

“Sure thing,” Syd said as she got up. Sam led her into the kitchen before he started.

“I just wanted to apologize for everything. I really should have been more vigilant.”

“I can’t forgive you because I don’t blame you, Sam. It could have happened to Dean… probably not Cas though. He’s a tank. And I meant what I said. No one’s to blame but Daniel and Lucifer.”

“I’d feel better if you said it though,” Sam said with pleading eyes.

“Okay then. I, the great and magnanimous Syd, forgive you for all of your evil deeds. Feel better?”

Sam laughed and replied, “A little. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“There’s one other thing. Dean said earlier that I’ve been acting… distant towards you. I just want you to know that it’s not because I don’t like you or anything. It’s just…,” Sam sighed and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “Dean and I have lost a lot of people. I just—.”

“I get it, Sam,” Syd interrupted with a small smile. “It makes sense. You guys hunt monsters for a living. Plus I had just assumed Cas told you about the time Lucifer decided to try and mess with me by looking like you, and that you didn’t want me to feel uncomfortable. Although, I am a bit angry.”

“Yeah, sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” Sam apologized under Syd’s stare. 

“That’s not the reason I’m mad, Sam,” Syd sighed. “Remember what I told you and your brother at the convention?”

“Um,” Sam replied trying to remember what she had said.

“I told you that I’m responsible for myself, and I don’t want you to feel guilty over me. But I guess I shouldn’t have expected one conversation to solve this weird ‘hero-complex’ that you and your brother seem to have. You don’t want to get too attached to me because if something happened you’d blame yourself for even getting me in this mess.”

Sam nodded. He didn’t like it, but she was right. Syd put her hand lightly on his arm.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I’m really grateful, but I said it before. Don’t waste time thinking about how it could have happened. I’d much rather we work together and get this Lucifer thing solved. And if I do die somehow, I’m willing to bet I’d be dead due to my own stupidity than anything to do with you.”

Sam laughed and felt a bit more relaxed now. Syd was right. There was no use in thinking about things that he couldn’t change. Sam smiled, and Syd gave him a small smile in return.


	15. Deal of No Deal

The mirror didn’t look impressive to Lucifer, but he could feel the ebb and flow of magic calling from it. No wonder the ranger had mistaken it as the thing Lucifer was after. Lucifer sighed and put his hand on his face. The ranger had been so close.

“So why did you decide to bring me this instead of Sydney?” Lucifer growled.

“It was the only magical item near her, and I couldn’t get her. You never said anything about her being a witch!” 

Lucifer’s eyebrows went up in interest. That demon had said that Syd was possibly related to Crowley, so that would mean that Syd was also distantly related to that witch Rowena too. 

“Well, that’s new, but aren’t you a witch too? You’re telling me that you couldn’t handle one untrained witch,” Lucifer said mockingly.

“It wasn’t just her. Her fairy boyfriend attacked me too!”

Lucifer’s body went rigid, and he stared at Daniel with pure malice.

“Boyfriend?”

“At least that’s the impression I got,” Daniel admitted, not noticing Lucifer’s fury. “He didn’t give up even after I put him in iron chains. And she looked as shocked as I felt when she used magic.”

“And?”

“And all I’m saying is that it takes a lot for an ‘untrained witch’ to toss a full grown man.”

Lucifer scoffed and snapped his fingers. A couple of demons came into the room to carry Daniel back to the dungeon.

“Thanks to the useless ruckus you caused, I now have more work to do. We can discuss your failure some other time,” Lucifer said as the demons forcefully took Daniel away. Syd’s voice now echoed through his mind as she summoned him. 

Flying into her dream, he noticed that they were in a room in the Winchester bunker, and it was so different from Syd’s usual dream location that he got distracted. Syd dropped a lit book of matches as he appeared. Once again Lucifer was trapped in holy fire. Lucifer sighed and realized that he should have anticipated that move. But the rage in the back of his mind had started to blaze through him again, and it was hard for him to think straight.

“Hello,” Lucifer greeted her with a smile and tried to hide his fury.

“You couldn’t even wait three days before you tried to stab me in the back,” Syd accused and eyed him warily.

“Oh, but you didn’t agree yet to my truce. What was I supposed to do? Call everything off while I waited to get an answer from the two people whom despise me most. And what’s this about a fairy boy? Making new friends?” Lucifer asked as his smile faltered.

Syd took a few steps back, infuriating Lucifer even more.

“Yeah. Just because you don’t have any friends doesn’t mean that I don’t,” Syd retorted.

“What does that mean?”

Syd sighed and explained, “I have a theory. I think that the only reason you ‘like’ me is because I have your grace. You wouldn’t even care that I exist if I didn’t have it. You just ‘like’ me because you’re chasing after a part of yourself.”

Lucifer thought about it for a second. It was true that he’d realized his affection for Syd after he’d found out about his grace, but that wasn’t it. He had been drawn to her even before he’d touched her soul.

“No,” he replied. “That’s not it. Did they not tell you about my deal with Daniel? Not even a little.”

Syd looked uncomfortable and said, “Sean told me something about it but not a lot.”

“I promised him that if I hurt you I’d be sealed away. How do you think I would get power from you, Syd? Do you remember the last time I touched your soul?”

Syd winced. Touching someone’s soul was extremely painful, and Syd seemed to remember that part perfectly.

“I like you, and I’ll give you anything if you would just come to me. I won’t hurt you. I promise,” Lucifer pleaded as Syd looked away. 

“Yeah, but you already have. You’ve been harassing me in my sleep, and that’s only with the stuff that I remember. Can you truthfully say that you’ve done nothing wrong?” Syd’s tone was angry but calm.

Lucifer was struck dumb for a few moments. That was true enough although thankfully not enough to impede on his deal with the ranger. 

“No, but you’re at fault too. You can’t just tease me and expect me not to react.”

“Is this about the note I left at the cabin? Okay, I apologize for that. I thought that you’d find it funny. Clearly I was wrong. I’ll agree to your deal. I’ll summon you once a week, and you can come into my dreams only when you have something. I’ll give you information in exchange for you giving me information, but only the condition that you return the mirror.”

“Oh, is it that important to you?” 

“It belongs to my friend, so yes,” Syd stated matter-of-factly.

Lucifer grimaced at her mentioning the fairy boy, but the fairy would be dealt with due time. 

“Okay, but I have a condition too.” 

“What?”

“This deal is sealed with a kiss.”

“No. You already got your kiss,” Syd argued with a slight blush. “You kissed me, remember?”

“Of course, and now you kiss me. It doesn’t have to be on the lips, and I’ll only come when you call for me. You want the mirror back, don’t you?”

Syd bit her lip and thought it over. Finally she sighed and said, “Okay. But you don’t move, and close your eyes.”

Lucifer obeyed as he could feel the fire going out around him. Her small hand was on the side of his face, and he felt his breathing almost stop as her lips touch his cheek softly. Her sweet scent nearly got the best of him as she pulled away, but he stopped himself just in time. Kissing her would be a mistake at the moment, and he didn’t want to ruin it. Lucifer ran his fingers through her hair with a sigh and opened his eyes. He shocked her with a tender smile before flying away.


	16. Lucifer and the Leprechaun

Wayne found himself slightly regretting this decision. He knew that getting Lucifer to assist him would be a long shot, but he hadn’t expected the demons to catch him so quickly. If he really needed to leave, these demons wouldn’t hold him for long, so he still patiently waited for his audience with Lucifer. The dungeon wasn’t very accommodating. However, it would do for the moment. He could hear screaming from all directions as he waited and wondered when Lucifer would deem it necessary to speak with him. Suddenly he heard a door open. Lucifer walked towards Wayne’s cell with a smile on his face.

“Well, lucky for you, Mr. Leprechaun, you’ve caught me in a good mood. What exactly did you need to tell me?” Lucifer asked and gave Wayne a measuring look.

“Please, Your Highness, call me Wayne. I’ve used it in the human world for quite some time. I wanted to make a deal of sorts with you,” Wayne said cautiously.

“And just what do you have that you think I would want?”

“Information. I hear that you’ve been after that girl the Winchesters are hiding. And I know that you have the mirror.”

“What is so special about that mirror?” Lucifer asked thoughtfully and motioned for the demons to leave.

“It’s called the Mirror of Souls,” Wayne informed Lucifer. “It can mend… or distort a human soul depending on the user’s desire.”

Lucifer cursed under his breath, all trace of geniality gone. He stared at Wayne for a second before he said, “So… in theory if a human had a part of their soul that contained grace, they could use the mirror to remove it?”

“Yes,” answered Wayne. “But only a fairy would be able to use it properly.”

Lucifer cursed again, louder this time. 

“I’ve… heard about that girl. The Fae are going on and on about it. A human with angelic grace is something quite interesting. I assume it’s why that Gancanagh is staying with the Winchesters. Likely under Oberon’s order to bring me and that girl back to Avalon.”

Wayne observed Lucifer warily as Lucifer seemed to slowly take in what he was saying. Lucifer was noticeably not taking this news well and had backed away from the cell. It was actually surprising for Wayne. He had been assuming that Lucifer had just been after the girl for his grace, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Why wouldn’t this news be good for him? Perhaps Lucifer knew that the grace would be a power booster of sorts within the human soul. 

“Unfortunately I’ve already made a deal to give them the mirror for my grace,” Lucifer spat out spitefully. “Is there any way for them to repair it?”

“I believe so. How badly damaged is it?” Wayne asked cautiously. 

Lucifer yelled out for one of his demons to bring him the mirror. Once the demon left, Lucifer brought the mirror to Wayne and showed him the shattered remains. He had expected for it to be broken, but this was extensive. No doubt that the Winchesters broke it in a rush to save Maylene. 

“That is bad,” Wayne admitted. “But it’s reparable under the right conditions. Unfortunately it’s missing at least one of the pieces. It can only be repaired with all of the pieces.”

“So if I took one of the shards, the Winchesters couldn’t repair it?”

“Yes, but that Gancanagh would be able to tell that part of it is missing though.”

Lucifer looked exasperated but then curious. “So what exactly is a Gancan-whatever? I know he’s a fairy, but how powerful are we talking about here?”

“I know that this one is the son of the Leanansidhe, and she is quite powerful. Oberon might be using him as a spy, but a Gancanagh’s true power lies in seduction, particularly of human women,” Wayne promptly stopped talking as Lucifer’s eyes glowed red. Clearly there was something more going on here than he’d thought.

“So fairy boy is spying on the Winchesters, huh?” Lucifer finally said, mostly to himself.

“There is a way that I could enchant the mirror, so that you could… check in on what the Winchesters are doing as well.”

This immediately caught Lucifer’s attention. His eyes focused on Wayne’s, and he snapped his fingers. Wayne was released from his restraints.

“What do you want as payment?”

“I’ll need the mirror back afterwards. I didn’t expect the Winchesters to damage it this badly, and now I have to improvise. I was testing the mirror to see if it could fully take in multiple human souls, but unfortunately it was only able to get one before it was damaged,” Wayne admitted bitterly.

“Those brats do have a way with sabotage,” Lucifer agreed. “So here’s the deal: you enchant the mirror so that I can listen in on the Winchesters, and I’ll inform you if they get close. In return, you get the mirror for your services, and I get Sydney. Agreed?”

Wayne was unsure about the last part. His friend on the Tribunal had wanted him to at least try to get the girl, mostly to irritate Oberon, but Wayne assumed that if the Winchesters managed to seal Lucifer away the deal would be rendered void anyway. Besides, the girl wasn’t a part of their plan, so even if Lucifer managed to steal her away, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. 

“Deal,” Wayne said with a smile. Wayne shook Lucifer’s hand and then enchanted the mirror. The spell was attached to the mirror but not directly on it, so it wouldn’t raise any alarms within their bunker. Lucifer would be able to see through any mirror located nearby and hear anything within the room the mirror was inside. Wayne looked fondly at his work. It was simple enough that the ‘fairy boy’ wouldn’t notice it but complex enough to work inside the bunker. 

As Wayne flew quickly out of Hell, he briefly wondered what plans Lucifer had in store for that girl. The look on his face had sent chills even up Wayne’s spine. Deciding it didn’t really matter to him, he decided to get back to work on his new plan.


End file.
